Sierra Super Trac Owner’s Guide
3.GAIN Control/ ON- OFF Knob (on top left face of control box)
“The Single Most Important Control on any Metal Detector”
The
GAIN
control knob turns the instrument
on/off
and selects the
Receive Signal strength
. In essence
this control sets the “sensitivity” of the signal. Increasing the
Gain
does
NOT
always find more targets at greater
depths. Sometimes
high ground mineralization
will
“bounce”
the signal back and mask good targets or
cause
OVERLOAD.
In addition, if the Gain is set too high, 60 cycle, radio, microwave and other environmental interference can cause
noisy operation
and interfere with hearing small or deeper signals. When the ground mineralization is too
high for the Gain control setting, the display indicates
“OVERLOAD-REDUCE SENS/LIFT LOOP”
Along with a very audible
“squawk”
.
At this time reduce the Gain until the overload warning
ceases
. On occasion, while searching, you might sweep the loop a very large or very shallow target. The
message on the LCD display will read
“OVERLOAD-REDUCE SENS/LIFT LOOP”.
Sweep the loop a
little higher over the area and note the display and audio indications. The ST will self-correct and the message will
go away.
GAIN Control Adjustment-
Starting from the
POWER OFF
position and going clockwise, the power is turned ON and the dial increases the
GAIN from a minimum level of 1 to a maximum level of +3. Set the control to the
“Initial Setting Triangle”
between level 9 & 10. Although this suggested setting gives more than enough sensitivity, if the ground
mineralization is low enough you might attempt to raise the
GAIN
higher.
However, be aware that at any time while sweeping the coil and detecting, if there is an increase in chatter, falsing
or erratic behavior you should
ALWAYS REDUCE THE GAIN.
Smooth and quite operation is essential for
the software to give accurate identification of targets. Too much Gain can cause bad ground to distort the proper
identification on iron and non-iron targets.
Note* It is normal to hear changes, clicks or soft beeps coming from the audio during Gain knob adjustments as
the circuit shifts between hardware and software components alternating between the two throughout its range.
If you hear an audio “clicks, etc.” as you adjust the Gain control only slightly this can indicate
a significant
rather than a slight change in the Gain sensitivity.
Controls Continued-
